It wasn’t the Mariners’ deep lineage of Japanese players that landed them pitcher Yusei Kikuchi this week, nor was it the prospect of landing on a team hell-bent on pursuing a pennant in 2019.

What really set Seattle apart from the competition in its bid for the 27-year-old, and what ultimately won Kikuchi over, were two unique twists in the proposal the team pitched to Kikuchi’s agent, Scott Boras.

The first was concocting a creative contract offer that would be a fit for the pitcher and an organization that saw Kikuchi as a fit for now and, most importantly, for when its competitive window opens again in a year or two. The other aspect, a close second in terms of importance to both Boras and Kikuchi, was the development plan Seattle presented — one aimed at protecting the left-hander by closely monitoring his innings, particularly in his first season.

These two reasons — perhaps more than anything else — were why Kikuchi was able to utter (in...